Steve Dawson

Friday, September 9; Frederick's Music Lounge (4454 Chippewa Street)

Between the lines of Steve Dawson's Sweet Is the Anchor, there's a riot going on -- albeit a contemplative one, impelled by the neo-country soul a man must make if he's stranded on a floodplain with Al Green's The Belle Album and a short-wave radio picking up news of another airstrike. Yet Steve Dawson makes his living at a record store in Chicago and found his groove with a soul cover band, even as his previous outfit, Dolly Varden, took a break at the precise moment it might have broken nationally. On Anchor, his first solo album, Dawson breaks down politics with the eloquence of Jeremiah, turns his ire on himself, and lets vibes and violins sing every homesick soul back home again.

Steve Dawson: Groove is in the heart.

Show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $7 (half-price with a Knitters ticket stub); call 314-351-5711 for more information.